The number of incidents of violence and aggression reported in Bradford hospitals has increased.

Medical director Professor Clive Kay said Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust urged people to report incidents to make improvements.

In 2012, 433 incidents were reported, compared to 615 last year. Those include incidents on and against patients, staff and visitors.

A report discussed by the Trust board of directors said: “Threatening behaviour has increased significantly in 2013. There has also been a slight increase in physical assault incidents, understood to be due to an increase in staff reporting unintentional assaults.

“Although the actual number of assaults has increased, reports to the police has decreased; which concurs that the number of intentional/malicious assaults has decreased.”

The report said staff are reporting more threatening behaviour incidents as a result of seeing the positive effect of early intervention.

The number of police and security on site has also increased. Prof Kay said it was a positive situation.

“We put in place a number of measures to protect our staff,” he said.